Archive for the El Toro Memorial Park Category

The American sprinter known world-wide simply as “Flo-Jo,” Florence Griffith Joyner electrified crowds with her speed and personality. In the trials leading up to the 1988 Seoul Olympics and in the games themselves, she set new World Records in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprint. These records – though tainted by discussions of “wind assistance” and potential drug use (unfounded) – still stand to this day. Her eccentric personality (and ridiculous finger nails) made her the darling of the ’88 games where she earned four medals, 3 gold and a silver. Joyner used her popularity to appear in a couple of TV shows and dabble in fashion design. At the age of 38, she suffered a seizure and died in her sleep.

Look. Let’s just get it out of the way right up front. Let’s choose to remember Gordon Jump for the lovable characters he created like WKRP in Cincinnati’s Arthur “Big Guy” Carlson or Chief Tinkler on Soap or even the ever-lonely Maytag Repairman from all of those commercials. Or, if we want to dig a little, we can appreciate his early radio career and numerous guest star appearances on dozens of television shows. Or we can even talk about his work in educational films for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Let’s just focus on the good stuff and avoid any conversation whatsoever about THAT episode of Diff’rent Strokes.